Did You Figure Out Your Business Requirements?

If you aren’t quite sure about your business requirements, then read up on what kind of hosting you need for your website. You’ll have a better understanding of the difference between a simple content site, and a robust ecommerce platform, as well as other types of websites. From there, you can dig into the different types of hosting plans to determine what is best for your needs. Most users will choose from three types of web hosting plans:

• Shared Web Hosting – simplest, cheapest option
• VPS Web Hosting – requires a bit more configuration, relatively inexpensive and scalable
• Dedicated Server Hosting – a robust hosting option that gives you a great deal of customizability, but which also requires a degree of technical knowledge

Shared Web Hosting

A shared web hosting plan will share resources with anywhere from two, to hundreds of websites hosted on the same server. If you’re lucky, most of the websites will have relatively low traffic, and will not require a lot of resources like RAM or database access. If you’re unlucky, then you may end up on a server with hundreds of other websites, and some of those websites may be resource hogs. When that happens, your webpages will load slowly, and users may abandon your website before they even have a chance to read your content. But if your budget is tight, then a shared web hosting plan might be the way to go, especially if you’re just serving up a few static pages of content. It may also be enough if you are able to set up page caching or a CDN that offloads some of the bandwidth requirements. Keep in mind that a shared server environment is generally the least secure type of hosting plan.

VPS Web Hosting

A VPS web hosting account is where you have a Virtual Private Server. This means that your VPS container will act like a mini dedicated server, where you have guaranteed minimum amounts of resources such as memory, bandwidth, and CPU power. If you’ve got a bit more budget and are able to hire a server administrator to perform basic updates periodically, then a VPS web hosting plan might be a good option. Often, hosting companies will offer a fully managed VPS web hosting account, where they handle server upgrades and security for you. The best part of a VPS web hosting plan is that it is usually expandable as your needs change. For example, you might start out with a VPS plan that has one CPU core and 8gb of RAM. Then, when your traffic goes up, you can expand it to have several CPU cores, and 16gb, 32gb, or more RAM to suit your needs.

Dedicated Server Hosting

A dedicated server hosting plan is one where you have a full computer dedicated to your websites. This machine is usually stored on a rack with many other dedicated servers. But, it is its unique hardware, meaning that nobody else has access to your files, database, processor, or bandwidth. It is dedicated to you and your website(s). If you believe that you will need a significant amount of memory, hard drive space, bandwidth, and other resources, then a dedicated server hosting plan might be the best choice. Just keep in mind that upgrades generally require physical hardware changes to your machine, unlike a VPS where upgrades are seamless.

Which Hosting Type is Right for You?

Now that you have an understanding of the different types of hosting plans, you can make a decision on a set-up. If you’re still not sure about things, and you’re not in a rush, then start with a shared web hosting account. You can learn the basics of hosting your website with very little money up front. You’ll also learn about the limitations that a shared hosting plan has. From there, you can decide whether to upgrade to VPS or a dedicated server.

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Home Spa and Self Care Products

We’ve all see the aftermath of at-home COVID haircuts. People are reluctant to take the risk of spending an hour in a salon, out of fear that they will contract the deadly virus. It’s true that people with pre-existing conditions, and older people are at risk of serious health issues and death. It’s also true that there are circumstances where people have died from in home haircuts. This fear has led to a surge in purchasing products for at home spa treatments and other self care products. People aren’t going to the barber, or the nail salon. Instead, they’re buying peel-off face masks, nail polish and mani pedi sets, and hair stylist kits complete with clippers, sheers, and blow dryers.

At Home Workout Gear and Equipment

Although COVID does not appear to be transmitted through sweat, gyms have been shut down by many states and localities. Even where they’re open, people are still afraid of going to the gym. Fitness centers have therefore begun to promote virtual workout programs online, and other workarounds to keep their customers engaged. Online retailers are also pushing exercise bikes, fitness bands, yoga mats, and other at home workout gear and equipment. Plus, Lululemon leggings and other fitness apparel and athleisure is still flying off the shelves.

Anxiety Relief, CBD, and Health Supplements

Cannabidiol is not considered a supplement, sellers may not advertise it as an anti-anxiety treatment, and it is not approved by the FDA. Yet, there are countless CBD stores online that are successful because people believe in the product. Consumers are hungry for self-care treatments and natural ways to avoid trips to the doctor and heavy prescription medications. They’re also concerned about their health amid a global pandemic. Consequently, they’re buying up vitamins, minerals, and nutritional supplements that may support the immune system like Vitamin D, Vitamin C, and Zinc. They’re also buying multivitamins for men and women, and nootropics like Onnit Alpha Brain.

How to Survive 2021 as an Online Retailer

These are just some of the products that will do well in 2021. There are plenty of other products and services that will surge in ecommerce sales this year, too. The key is in understanding the underlying factors of the trend that’s right in front of us. Understand that shopping behavior is changing, possibly permanently, as a result of the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 and 2021. Apply that to your business analytics, and make intelligent decisions, and you might just survive in 2021 as an online retailer. If you’re not already online, it might be time to get started with a WordPress hosting plan.

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QuickMBA

If you want to have access to the fundamentals of an MBA program, then QuickMBA.com is a great place to start. This website is an oldie, but goodie. In fact, it’s so old that you’re going to need a desktop computer to view it. But once you do, you’ll have access to all sorts of MBA program materials, for free. Categories include accounting, business law, economics, entrepreneurship, finance, management, marketing, operations, statistics, and strategy.

Udemy

If you don’t mind spending a few bucks to learn valuable skills, then try Udemy.com. The great thing about Udemy is that courses are in video format, so that you don’t have to spend time reading lengthy pages of information. Many courses also have workbooks to help you with the lessons. And, you can usually sample a few lessons before deciding to spend money on a course. Pro tip: when you find a course that you like, wait for a sale before purchasing it. For example, if you want to buy this great course on sales training, you’ll see that it’s priced at $94.99. But if it’s not already on sale, wait a week, and the price will usually drop to below $20.

LinkedIn Learning (Formerly Lynda.com)

If you’re a business professional, then it’s very likely that you’ve already got a profile on LinkedIn.com. But did you know that they have a full suite of e-learning materials available right on their website? Back in 2015, they acquired Lynda.com for $1.5 billion, and folded the coursework into their own platform. In addition, there are plenty of networking groups where you can learn from others in your industry.

Small Business Forums

Oddly, many amazing small business resources live on old-school platforms, and SmallBusinessForums.org is no exception. As with Quick MBA, you’re going to need to view this website on a desktop device, but it’s worth it. You’ll get access to a wealth of knowledge in old forum posts, and you’ll have access to other professionals who can answer your questions. Just be sure not to annoy people with questions that have already been answered in the past. Spend five minutes to do a search before posting a question, and lurk a bit to get a feel for the culture of this forum. It’ll make people more receptive to you, and they’ll be more helpful, which translates into more dollars in your pocket.

Warrior Forum

If you want access to a great forum full of small business owners and entrepreneurs, plus free learning materials, then WarriorForum.com may be for you. Plus, the owners of Warrior Forum took the time to upgrade their platform so that it’s easily readable on mobile devices. They’ve also got a strong focus on digital marketing, including branding, search engine optimization, and social media marketing.

Facebook Groups

Believe it or not, Facebook isn’t just for socializing. You can explore Facebook groups to find business-minded people to connect with. If you don’t want to mix your business and personal posts, then you can do one of two things. First, you can choose to only join private groups, so that your posts and comments only appear for other members of the group, rather than annoying your friends and family. Second, you could create a business page for your company. Believe it or not, you can actually join some groups under your business name, rather than your personal profile. This is often a good approach if you want to promote your company. Just keep in mind that it’ll be harder to network with people on a personal level.

Up and Coming Websites for Small Businesses and Startups

This list of websites is far from exhaustive. There are lots of online destinations where you can get an education in building your business. And, there are some up and coming websites to keep your eyes on.

Snackable Solutions

As the name suggests, Snackable Solutions is all about giving you bite-sized solutions to common business problems. Sometimes, we don’t have hours to spend on learning information that we barely use. Instead, you can watch a five-minute video on this website or its accompanying Youtube channel. Just keep in mind that this website is very new, and it will be a while before they’ve got a full library of snackable videos to help you get your business off of the ground.

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How to Start an Informational Website or Blog on the Cheap

There are a few companies that offer free web hosting. Often, when you register a domain name, the registrar will offer a package that includes free hosting so long as your domain is hosted with them. Other hosting companies will let you put up your website in exchange for embedding their advertising on your pages. However, there are very affordable options that will produce a better result.

Register Your Domain Name

The first thing you need to do, whether you use a free or paid web hosting service is to register a domain name. This will cost you anywhere from a few dollars per month when there are ongoing promotions, to $30 or more per month for certain top-level domains, and expensive registrars like Network Solutions. Once you have your domain name registered, you can set up your hosting account. You then adjust the DNS entries on your domain name and point them at your web server, which contains the files that comprise your website. It may sound complicated, but it’s really not that hard once you understand the difference between a domain registrar and a web hosting company.

Choose a Web Hosting Company

There are many web hosting companies that offer affordable plans. Generally, you’ll be okay with almost any hosting plan if you’re just starting out. A good place to start is by picking a shared web hosting plan. You can host for less than $5 per month while you experiment with your account. Later, you can usually upgrade your hosting plan from shared to VPS, or to one with more resources.

Install WordPress

There are lots of web builders available. WordPress is by far the most popular platform, and it’s easy to use. Oftentimes, your web hosting company will enable one-click installs, so that you don’t need any tech skills to get your website online. Once you get it set up, you can choose a WordPress theme to customize your website’s appearance.

How to Start an Ecommerce Website

Believe it or not, you can start an ecommerce website using WordPress and an ecommerce plugin like Woocommerce. This is a great option, but it may require a bit more technical know-how to setup than if you were to choose an out-of-the-box ecommerce solution like Shopify or Bigcommerce. These platforms cost more than basic WordPress hosting. However, they’ll save you lots of time, as you can generally just begin to add products to your store. Keep in mind that an ecommerce solution will not be as customizable as a WordPress website. This is generally not a major problem, unless you plan to use SEO to drive traffic to your website. If this is the case, then you may want to consider a more customizable solution like Woocommerce or Magento.

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The Best Web Hosting for Small Business and Personal Sites

If you’re creating your own website or personal blog, you likely won’t have a huge amount of content. You might have some images, but they likely won’t be high resolution. You probably also won’t be posting video directly to your website. While you may hope to gain visitors, chances are you won’t have a huge amount of traffic right away. This means you won’t need to look for web hosting services that offer a large amount of storage or bandwidth.

This is also often the case for small businesses that aren’t planning large eCommerce sites. If your website is informational and contains only a few pages and a blog, you probably won’t have a lot of large images or videos. Like a personal page, you can get away with one of the basic web host options. These options may even be fine if you have a fairly small eCommerce site. The options for both personal sites and small business sites include shared hosting and small VPS hosting.

Shared Web Hosting Services

Many different companies, including Bluehost, offer shared web hosting. These hosting options can be very cheap—some basic shared hosts are less than $5 a month. They do typically limit your storage and bandwidth, though there are a few unlimited options out there. Often, these plans don’t include extras like dedicated customer support or unlimited email addresses. However, for small websites, what they do have is often enough.

The downside to shared hosts is that your website is stored on a server with dozens of other sites. All of these sites share that server’s processor, RAM, and other resources. If one site starts using more and more of these resources, it affects the other sites on the server. The same is true if one website sees a major spike in traffic. The bandwidth it draws can make other sites load very slowly for visitors. If you’re the one using up most of the server’s bandwidth, your website may be temporarily taken offline, which can hurt your business.

VPS Hosting

For larger personal sites or small business sites, a VPS or virtual private server hosting may offer more of what you need. This is especially true if your website is going to need extra resources or will require specific software settings. With a shared host, all the sites on the server have to run on the same operating system and use the same settings. With VPS hosting, that’s not the case. The hard drive is portioned into virtual servers. Each of these virtual servers can act independently of each other. Resources aren’t shared in the same way, either. This means you won’t experience as many slowdowns or other issues.

While cheap VPS hosting offered by companies like DreamHost will be more expensive than shared hosting, it’s still fairly inexpensive. You can often find basic VPS hosting for around $10 a month.

Small eCommerce and Medium-Sized Websites

If your eCommerce site has a number of products or you plan on growing it quickly, a shared host or a small VPS host may not be the best option. Medium sized websites that incorporate large blogs, message forums, and other areas that will contain a good amount of content may also need more storage space. These websites will want to look at some of the middle-tiers of VPS hosting.

What’s great about most hosting services is that you can upgrade whenever you need to. For example, if you have Hostgator’s Snappy 2000 plan, their basic VPS option, but later decide you need more, you can simply upgrade to the 4000 plans. Many websites also let you upgrade parts of your plan, for a small additional fee. For example, you could pay to have more processing power or storage space. This makes it easy to customize your hosting plan to fit your needs.

It also means you won’t be spending as much money early on, nor will you be paying for resources you’re not yet using. You can take advantage of the affordable price offered by cheap VPS hosting offered by a2Hosting and other companies while you’re still setting up your site, then upgrade when you need to.

Large Websites and Bigger eCommerce Sites

For large websites and bigger eCommerce sites, you’re going to want to look at some of the upper-tier VPS hosting options or even a dedicated server. If you select a dedicated host, which is the most expensive option available, your website will be the only thing on the server. You’ll be able to customize the server to your needs. You can look at various content delivery networks (CDNs), caching options, and code optimization to make certain you’re getting the most out of your website. An optimized dedicated server is the fastest web hosting option out there, but you will pay more for it.

Selecting the Right Website Host

The right website host depends on the size of your site and your needs. If you’re looking for the best web hosting for small business sites, you’ll want to look at shared or VPS hosting. For larger sites, especially eCommerce sites, more advanced VPS hosting and dedicated servers may be the right option. Take a look at your needs to see which matches up the best. Remember, you can always upgrade if you need more resources later.

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Make a List of Technical Requirements

Do you have basic HTML and CSS skills? If not, then you’ll need a visual webpage builder. Do you plan to integrate basic ecommerce functionality into your website? If so, then you’ll need a theme that’s compatible with Woocommerce or another popular shopping cart. Make a list of these and other technical requirements and features before selecting your theme. Often, you’ll be able to use these attributes to filter results on websites like ThemeForest. This will limit your choices to a more manageable list of potential WordPress themes for your project.

Make Sure It’s Compatible With Popular Plugins and PHP 7.2

Make sure the theme works with popular plugins like Yoast SEO, Woocommerce, and others. If you have time to wait for a response, then you can try to reach out to the theme developer. Make sure the theme works with top plugins. In addition, make sure that it’s compatible with the latest version of PHP, or you’ll have issues installing and upgrading it.

Keep it Simple

Less is more when it comes to WordPress themes. It’s great to have the functionality you need, but too much can bloat your website. Not only will it slow down your pages, but too much code could present unnecessary security flaws. So, think about your requirements and avoid things that you don’t expect to provide immediate value. Remember, this is WordPress. You can always add plugins later on if you find you need additional functionality.

Confirm That the Theme Follows WordPress Best-Practices

Don’t choose a bloated theme. Pick one that uses lean, and clean code. Otherwise your pages will take forever to load. Don’t buy a theme unless there’s a demo link. Click through it and then adjust your screen-width to all common sizes, including mobile. Make sure that the theme is responsive and displays well on mobile devices.

Make a List of Brand Requirements

Does your brand use specific colors or fonts? If so, then make sure that the theme either comes with those parameters, or that you can adjust them. The best premium themes make it easy for you to adjust colors and fonts, and they’re not terribly expensive. For less than $100, you’ll save hours of work.

Pay Attention to Readability

Make sure that the fonts you choose are easy to read. The size, and style of the font should make it easy for users to consume your content. Not only is this good for users, but it’s good for SEO.

Multilingual-Ready

Most likely, you’ll want to be able to offer your website in more than one language. Make sure it’s multi-lingual ready. This will expand your market to include many other customers that your competitors may not reach.

Thoroughly Test Your WordPress Theme After Installation

A visual inspection is usually enough to determine whether a theme is worth buying. Don’t forget to test it in every major browser including Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Firefox. Also test it on mobile browsers. However, this is not enough and you need to be sure that your theme is well-designed. After you install it, add the Theme Check plugin to your website and run it. You’ll learn about some basic issues that might exist in your theme, and you can then decide whether to keep it, or replace it.

Select a Reliable Web Hosting Provider

After you’ve got your theme, you’ll want to launch your website. Pick a web hosting company that fits your budget and needs. You’ll find lots of web hosting reviews on HostCalc, so take your time and select a plan that’s right for your project.

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What is the Long Term Vision of Your Website?

The answers to some basic questions will help you to determine how many resources you’ll need to run your website.

How do you plan to drive traffic to your website?

If you don’t depend on SEO for traffic, then you can often get a fast start by utilizing a hosted service like Shopify. This is a simple way to launch an ecommerce website. However, it is not as flexible as installing WordPress (and Woocommerce) or some other software package onto a web hosting account. This means that you’ll have less control over URL structures and other SEO elements. If you do utilize SEO, then you’ll likely want as much flexibility as possible.

Is it an ecommerce website, a content site, or something else?

Generally, ecommerce websites are more resource-intensive than content websites. You’ll need to utilize lots of database queries and processing power to handle pages, order processing, and integrations. If on the other hand you have a content website, then you can often get away with less processing and database power. In either case, you can think about utilizing a CDN to serve static pages instead of database-driven pages that are constructed on the fly. A good first step would be to use a free service like Cloudflare.

How much traffic do you reasonably expect to get on a daily basis?

If you have a local business, then you can probably get away with using a small website hosting plan. On the other hand, if you have a national, or international business, and your website gets a lot of traffic, then you might need a VPS or dedicated server.

Will you serve heavy video files or other content that requires a lot of bandwidth?

Are you streaming videos, or running a chat service? If so, then you will likely need a dedicated server for these services. You can then decide whether you want to serve all of your content from this server, or if you want to serve your webpages from a smaller hosting account.

Will you require heavy database queries?

Think about how much database use you’ll require. If you’ve got an ecommerce website with a lot of products or customers, then this is a likely case. If you’ve got a content site with 1000s of pages, then this may be true as well. On the other hand, if you’ve got a small website, or static content, then a simple shared hosting account may be the right decision.

So, What Kind of Hosting Do I Need?

Once you’ve got some answers to these questions, you can begin to think about the different types of website hosting. Check out some of the different types of hosting in our reviews, and then make an educated decision. You’ll want to compare these three options:

• Shared Web Hosting – simplest, cheapest option
• VPS Web Hosting – requires a bit more configuration, relatively inexpensive and scalable
• Dedicated Server – a robust hosting option that gives you a great deal of customizability, but which also requires a degree of technical knowledge

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